Cleaning device having an indexible wiping member



Oct. 5, 1954 c. A. SUNDELL 2,690,582

CLEANING DEVICE HAVING AN INDEXIBLE WIPING MEMBER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledApril 26, 1951 Patented Oct. 5, 1954 CLEANING DEVICE HAVING AN INDEXIBLEWKEING MEMBER Carl A. Sundell, Muskegon Heights, Mich, assignor to lheBrunswick-Balke-(lollender Com- Application April 26, 1951, Serial No.223,000

(Cl. l5228) 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a cleaning device for a flat surface such as abowling alley and particularly to a duster in which a clean wipingmember is readily obtainable thereby avoiding any likelihood that thesurface can pick up any dirt from the device or that any grit which mayhave been picked up by the device can have an abrasive eifect upon thesurface finish of the surface.

In a bowling alley it is highly important that the surface have amirror-like finish and that it be kept that way at all times. An alleygradually accumulates dust from the air and dirt from the balls whichpass thereover. It is important that the abrasion from particles whichlodge on the surface of the alley be kept at a minimum. One way ofaccomplishing this is to clean the alley with a device which itself hasa clean surface. Thus, any particles of grit which are picked up fromthe alley are prevented from acting as an abrasive for injuring thehighly polished surface of the alley.

Accordingly, it is an object of thisinvention to provide a cleaningdevice in which a fresh cleaning surface may be obtained quickly at thewill of the operator.

Another object of this invention is to produce a cleaning device inwhich both sides of a cleaning material are utilized simultaneously forpicking up dirt.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cleaning device havinga pair of spaced parallel rollers each adapted to receive the end of astrip of cleaning material to be wound therearound and stretchedtherebetween, the device being so arranged that the cleaning materialaround each roll contacts the area to be cleaned during a single pass ofthe device with each roll pressing opposite sides of the materialagainst the surface.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the duster showing a strip of cleaningmaterial thereon;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device of Fig. 1 with the handleremoved therefrom;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the device of this invention with the handlebroken away;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the device taken along the lines 44 ofFig. 2 showing the manner in which cleaning material is fed on thedevice in order to clean with both sides of the material in a singlepass;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged broken sectional view showing the pawl and ratchetmechanism whereby cleaning material is advanced;

Fig. 6 is a broken sectional view taken along the line B6 of Fig. 3showing the manner of assembling the device;

Fig. '7 is a sectional view of a part of the roll turning mechanism; and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 88 of Fig. '7.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many differentforms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described indetail one specific embodiment, with the understanding that the presentdisclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principlesof the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to theembodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed outin the appended claims.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawings, it will be noted that thecleaning device of this invention includes a transverse hollow frame rodI0 to which a handle I! is pivoted for free swinging movement. Securedto the ends of the frame rod it are end pieces l2 and l3.

The end piece 13 is removably secured to the center bar it so that therollers which form the support means for the strip of cleaning materialmay readily be removed for the insertion of a fresh strip. To this end,the end piece I3 is provided with a central opening through which a rodl i (Fig. 6) extends'the rod being threaded at its outer end to receivethe internal threads in a knurled knob 01' nut l5. The inner end of therod extends into the hollow frame rod and is surrounded by a coilcompression spring it therein. The spring has one end bearing against aplate ll welded to the end of the frame rod 10 and its other end bearsagainst a thrust washer it held on the rod IQ by means of a transversepin is. The ends of the pin extend through a pair of parallel slots 2%)in the frame rod l0 and the ends of the pin are retained in position inthe slots by washers 2! affixed thereto.

It will be noted that the plate I! is provided with a pair of pins 22which extend into openings 23 in the end piece l3 correctly to align theplate I? therewith. Thus the end piece 53 is urged toward the end platell by the compression of the spring l5 which compression may beregulated by varying the degree to which the knob i5 is tightened on thethreaded rod I l.

Secured adjacent each end of the end piece 12 are pins 25 and 2d whichextend inwardly from the end piece to be received in suitable openingsin wooden plugs 21 and 28 respectively. The plug 2! is secured, by thepins shown, to a metal plug 21a to which is secured a metal tube 211) tosupport a cardboard roller 29 which carries a strip of cleaning material30 wound thereabout. The opposite end of the metal tube 211) is securedto a metal driving plug 3| which is provided with flattened upper andlower surfaces 32 received in flange portions 33 of a plate member 34.The cardboard tube is secured to the wooden plugs by the nails 29a asshown to provide a driving connection between the cardboard roller andthe wooden plugs, and the latter are pinned to the metal plugs by theengaging pins shown. The plate member is fixed to the end of a shaft 35rotatably mounted in the end piece I3. The outer end of the shaft 35 isprovided with an internally threaded opening 36 provided for a purposehereinafter to be described. Fixed to the outer end of the shaft 35 is astar wheel 31 which engages a complementary formed portion 38 formed onthe inner surface of a sleeve 39 rotatably mounted in and forming a partof a ratchet wrench 60. The ratchet wrench illustrated is of the typeshown in U. S. Patent 2,500,835. The outer periphery of the collar 39 isprovided with a plurality of ratchet teeth 4! adapted to be engaged by apivotal pawl 42 carried by the wrench and urged into contact with theratchet teeth by a leaf spring 43 so that pivotal movement of the wrench410 in one direction serves to rotate the collar 39 and hence the shaft35 to rotate the roller 29.

To secure the ratchet wrench in position on the star wheel 31 there isprovided a pin M which extends through an opening 45 in the shaft 35which is coaxial with the opening 38 and thence into an opening G in theplug 3i. The pin 44 is provided with an externally threaded sleeve 4'!secured thereto, the threads of which engage the internal threads in theopening 36. The outer end of the pin 44 is provided with an enlargedslot head 48 which engages the sides of the sleeve 39 on the ratchetwrench securely to hold the same in position.

Rotation of the roller 29 by means of the ratchet mechanism serves towind up the strip 30 of cleaning material from another roller 50rotatably journalled between the and pieces I2 and I3.

The roller 59 is also preferably formed of cardboard and has one endsecured to the plug 28 and its other end secured to a second plug 5|rotatably mounted upon a pin 52 in the end piece [3. The mounting of theroller 50 includes a metal tube secured to metal plugs as previouslydescribed for the roller 29. Thus as the wrench 40 is pivotedcounterclockwise from the position shown in Fig. 3 the cleaning material30 is unwound from the roller 59 and wound up upon the roller 29.Release of the wrench 40 after effecting pivotal movement to wind up thestrip permits a spring 53 to return the handle to the position shown inFig. 8 and against a stop 54 integrally formed in the end piece I3. Asbest seen from an inspection of Figs. 5 and '7, the spring 53 has oneend secured to the end piece l3 and its other end wound about the handleof the ratchet wrench while an intermediate portion of the spring iswound around the outer extension of the shaft 35.

As will be noted in Fig. 3, as the cleaning device is moved across thefloor, the rollers do not rotate but rather remain stationary and thestrip of material wound upon each is in contact with the surface to becleaned. It will be noted, however, that one side of the portion of thestrip wound around the roller 50 contacts the surface to be cleanedwhile the opposite side of that portion of the strip wound around theroller 29 is in contact with the surface. Thus during each pass of thecleaning device the surface to be cleaned is contacted twice, that is bythe material wound around the roller 50 and the material wound aroundthe roller 29 and in each case the opposite side of the material ispresented to the surface. When that portion of the strip which contactsthe surface becomes dirty, pivotal movement of the ratchet wrench servesto unwind a small portion of the strip from the roller 50 winding it upupon the roller 29 and thus a fresh portion of the material is presentedto the surface to he :leaned during succeeding passes of the device, Itis contemplated that during sweeping operation the tension of the springIE will be such as to press the wooden plugs and metal tube whichsupport the rollers sufficiently tight against the end pieces so as toprevent rotation of the rollers. Thus, the same surface of the cleaningmaterial is presented to the area to be swept during each pass and ismoved only with movement of the ratchet mechanism 50 and that only whenthe portion of the cleaning material which is in contact with the flooris sufficiently soiled as to warrant it.

Thus this invention provides a device which not only utilizes both sidesof a strip of cleaning material which may be absorbent paper or othermaterials specifically prepared for this purpose, but also contacts thesurface to be cleaned twice during each pass.

I claim:

1. A cleaning device comprising a frame, a pair of end pieces, one beingmounted on each end of the frame, support means on each end piece, apair of parallel rollers rotatably mounted on said support means, meansfor resiliently urging one end piece toward the other frictionally tohold said rollers against rotation, a ratchet and pawl device on one endpiece for rotating one of the rollers, a strip of cleaning materialWound on said rollers, said strip unwinding from the top of one rollerand around the bottom of the other roller whereby one side of saidcleaning material on one roller and the other side of said cleaningmaterial on the other roller both contact the area to be cleaned duringa single pass.

2. A cleaning device comprising a frame bar, a handle pivotally mountedon said frame bar, a pair of end pieces, one being mounted on each endof the frame, support means on each end piece, a pair of parallelrollers rotatably mounted on said support means, means for resilientlyurging one end piece toward the other frictionally to hold said rollersagainst rotation, a ratchet and pawl device on one end piece forrotating one of the rollers, a strip of cleaning material wound on saidrollers, said strip unwinding from the top of one roller and around thebottom of the other roller whereby one side of said cleaning material onone roller and the other side of said cleaning material on the otherroller both contact the area to be cleaned during a single pass.

3. A cleaning device comprising a hollow frame bar, an end piece mountedon one end of said frame bar, a second end piece, means for removablysecuring said second end piece to the frame bar including a springwithin the bar, a threaded rod engaging the spring and extending throughan opening in said second end piece,

and a nut engaging the threads and adapted to bear against the lastmentioned end piece resiliently to urge the end pieces together, supportmeans on each end piece, a pair of parallel rollers rotatably mounted onsaid support means and frictionally held against rotation by the tensionof said spring, a ratchet and pawl device on one end piece for rotatingone of the rollers, and a strip of cleaning material wound on saidrollers, said strip unwinding from the top of one roller and around thebottom of the other roller whereby one side of said cleaning material onone roller and the other side of said cleaning material on the otherroller both contact the area to be cleaned during a single pass.

eferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 899,725 Goodier Sept. 29, 1908 899,726 Goodier Sept. 29, 1908899,727 Goodier Sept. 29, 1908 1,130,064 Buchanan Mar. 2, 1915 1,146,668Tanaka July 13, 1915 2,394,585 Bailey Feb. 12, 1946

